Krista Kaups, MD

Professor of Clinical Surgery
Surgery - Fresno
+1 559 459-3770

Krista L. Kaups, MD, MSc, FACS
Professor, UCSF
Director, Surgical Intensive Care Unit, Community Regional Medical Center
Program Director, Surgical Critical Care Fellowship Program, UCSF Fresno
Specialties: General Surgery, Critical Care Surgery

Krista L. Kaups, MD, MSc, FACS, is a Professor of Clinical Surgery, Department of Surgery at the University of California San Francisco Fresno, Director of the Surgical Intensive Care Unit at Community Regional Medical Center and the Program Director of the Surgical Critical Care Fellowship at the UCSF Fresno Center for Medical Education and Research.

Dr. Kaups received her bachelors degree in Biochemistry at Bethel University, St. Paul, Minnesota, and her medical degree at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago. Her general surgery internship and residency were completed at the MSU Southwest Michigan Area Health Education Center; Kalamazoo, Michigan. Following residency, Dr. Kaups completed a Surgical Critical Care Fellowship at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester, Massachusetts, followed by a year of research. Dr. Kaups later completed an MSc in Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Dr. Kaups has participated in a number of international volunteer clinical and teaching opportunities in countries including South Sudan, Kenya, Afghanistan, Albania, Sierra Leone and Thailand. Among the topics she has taught have been trauma courses for the developing world, ventilator use for the non-intensivist, ICU care in the developing world, sepsis, surgical error, clostridium difficile, and burn care.

Dr. Kaups is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and a member of the Society of Critical Care Medicine, the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, the Western Trauma Association, Surgical Critical Care Program Directors Society, Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma, the Southwest Surgical Association, and the International Surgical Society/IATSIC. She serves on a number of committees and workgroups in these organizations.

Publications: 

American Association for the Surgery of Trauma pancreatic organ injury scale: 2024 Revision.

The journal of trauma and acute care surgery

Notrica DM, Tominaga GT, Gross JA, Southard RN, McOmber ME, Crandall M, Kozar R, Kaups KL, Schuster KM, Ball CG

Kidney organ injury scaling: 2025 update.

The journal of trauma and acute care surgery

Keihani S, Tominaga GT, Matta R, Gross JA, Cribari C, Kaups KL, Crandall M, Kozar RA, Werner NL, Zarzaur BL, Coburn M, Myers JB

Don't break the (blood) bank: Can waste be minimized in a whole blood program?

American journal of surgery

Lilienstein J, Lowry D, Long A, Kaups K, Chan-Golston A, Gallegos J, Morrissey G, Davis J

Sustaining Lifelong Competency of Surgeons: Multimodality Empowerment Personal and Institutional Strategy.

Journal of the American College of Surgeons

Rosengart TK, Chen JH, Gantt NL, Angelos P, Warshaw AL, Rosen JE, Perrier ND, Kaups KL, Doherty GM, Zoumpou T, Ashley SW, Doscher W, Welsh D, Savarise M, Sutherland MJ, Sidawy AN, Kopelan AM

American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) / American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma (ACS-COT): Clinical Protocol for Damage Control Resuscitation for the Adult Trauma Patient.

The journal of trauma and acute care surgery

LaGrone L, Stein D, Cribari C, Kaups K, Harris C, Miller AN, Smith B, Dutton R, Bulger E, Napolitano LM

Organ donation in the surgical ICU: an American Association for the Surgery of Trauma Critical Care Committee clinical consensus document.

Trauma surgery & acute care open

Seshadri A, Cuschieri J, Kaups KL, Knowlton LM, Kutcher ME, Pathak A, Rappold J, Rinderknecht T, Stein DM, Young J, Michetti CP

Contemporary Management and Outcomes of Penetrating Colon Injuries: Validation of the 2020 AAST Colon Organ Injury Scale: Validation of 2020 AAST Colon Organ Injury Scale.

The journal of trauma and acute care surgery

Zeineddin A, Tominaga GT, Crandall M, Almeida M, Schuster KM, Jawad G, Maqbool B, Sheffield AC, Dhillon NK, Radow BS, Moorman ML, Martin ND, Jacovides CL, Lowry D, Kaups K, Horwood CR, Werner NL, Proa?o-Zamudio JA, Kaafarani HMA, Marshall WA, Haines LN, Schaffer KB, Staudenmayer KL, Kozar RA

Non-Surgical Management and Analgesia Strategies for Older Adults with Multiple Rib Fractures: a Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis, and Practice Management Guideline from the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma.

The journal of trauma and acute care surgery

Mukherjee K, Schubl SD, Tominaga G, Cantrell S, Kim B, Haines KL, Kaups KL, Barraco R, Staudenmayer K, Knowlton LM, Shiroff AM, Bauman ZM, Brooks SE, Kaafarani H, Crandall M, Nirula R, Agarwal SK, Como JJ, Haut ER, Kasotakis G

Management of Decompensated Cirrhosis in the Surgical ICU: an American Association for the Surgery of Trauma Critical Care Committee Clinical Consensus Document.

Trauma surgery & acute care open

Seshadri A, Appelbaum R, Carmichael SP, Cuschieri J, Hoth J, Kaups KL, Kodadek L, Kutcher ME, Pathak A, Rappold J, Rudnick SR, Michetti CP

National blood shortage: A call to action from the trauma community.

The journal of trauma and acute care surgery

Stein DM, Upperman JS, Livingston DH, Andrews J, Bulger EM, Cohen MJ, Eastridge BJ, Fontaine MJ, Guillamondegui O, Hess JR, Jenkins DH, Kaups KL, Nance ML, Spinella PC, Zarzaur BL, Zonies D, Coimbra R

Revision of the AAST grading scale for acute cholecystitis with comparison to physiologic measures of severity.

The journal of trauma and acute care surgery

Schuster KM, O'Connor R, Cripps M, Kuhlenschmidt K, Taveras L, Kaafarani HM, El Hechi M, Puri R, Schroeppel TJ, Enniss TM, Cullinane DC, Cullinane LM, Agarwal S, Kaups K, Crandall M, Tominaga G

The specialty of surgical critical care: A white paper from the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma Critical Care Committee.

The journal of trauma and acute care surgery

Michetti CP, Nahmias J, Rangel EL, Rappold JF, Gonzalez RP, Pathak AS, Kaups K

Does autotransfusion from a contaminated trauma laparotomy field increase the risk of complications?

American journal of surgery

Lilienstein JT, Davis JW, Kochubey M, Garcia L, Kaups KL, Sue LP, Dirks RC

Mortality in hypotensive trauma patients requiring laparotomy is related to degree of hypotension and provides evidence for focused interventions.

Trauma surgery & acute care open

Davis JW, Dirks RC, Jeffcoach DR, Kaups KL, Sue LP, Lilienstein JT, Wolfe MM, Kwok AM

Admission base deficit is superior to lactate in identifying shock and resuscitative needs in trauma patients.

American journal of surgery

Davis JW, Sue LP, Dirks RC, Kaups KL, Kwok AM, Wolfe MM, Lilienstein JT, Bilello JF

Into the wild and on to the table: A Western Trauma Association multicenter analysis and comparison of wilderness falls in rock climbers and nonclimbers.

The journal of trauma and acute care surgery

Bernard M, Martin MJ, Corsa J, Robinson B, Zeeshan M, Joseph B, Morris D, Shillinglaw W, Schurr M, Smith T, Lara S, Brown C, Harrell K, Maxwell R, Berndtson AE, Curry T, Kaups K, Dirks R, Rott M, Schroeppel T, Stillman Z, Warriner Z, Inaba K, Burlew C, Robinson C, Jackson R, Dunn J, Chapin T, Wilson A, Moulton S, Phillips R, Shahi N, Urban S, Velopulos C, Davenport D, C Bernard A

Outcomes of major lower extremity amputations n dysvascular patients: Room for improvement.

American journal of surgery

O'Banion LA, Dirks R, Farooqui E, Kaups K, Qumsiyeh Y, Rome C, Davis J

Prospective evaluation of admission cortisol in trauma.

Trauma surgery & acute care open

Kwok AM, Davis JW, Dirks RC, Sue LP, Wolfe MM, Kaups K

Reply to Letter: Organ injury scaling 2018 update: Spleen, liver, and kidney.

The journal of trauma and acute care surgery

Kozar RA, Crandall M, Shanmuganathan K, Zarzaur B, Coburn M, Cribari C, Kaups K, Schuster K, Tominaga GT, AAST Patient Assessment Committee

Clinical use of resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA) in civilian trauma systems in the USA, 2019: a joint statement from the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma, the American College of Emergency Physicians, the N

Trauma surgery & acute care open

Bulger EM, Perina DG, Qasim Z, Beldowicz B, Brenner M, Guyette F, Rowe D, Kang CS, Gurney J, DuBose J, Joseph B, Lyon R, Kaups K, Friedman VE, Eastridge B, Stewart R

Delayed splenic hemorrhage: Myth or mystery? A Western Trauma Association multicenter study.

American journal of surgery

Harmon L, Bilow R, Shanmuganathan K, Lauerman M, Todd SR, Cardenas J, Haugen CE, Albrecht R, Pittman S, Cohen M, Kaups K, Dirks R, Burlew CC, Fox CJ, Con J, Inaba K, Harrison PB, Berg GM, Waller CJ, Kallies KJ, Kozar RA

Organ injury scaling 2018 update: Spleen, liver, and kidney.

The journal of trauma and acute care surgery

Kozar RA, Crandall M, Shanmuganathan K, Zarzaur BL, Coburn M, Cribari C, Kaups K, Schuster K, Tominaga GT, AAST Patient Assessment Committee

After the embo: predicting non-hemorrhagic indications for splenectomy after angioembolization in patients with blunt trauma.

Trauma surgery & acute care open

Bilello JF, Sharp VL, Dirks RC, Kaups KL, Davis JW

Base deficit is superior to lactate in trauma.

American journal of surgery

Davis JW, Dirks RC, Kaups KL, Tran P

Current outcomes of blunt open pelvic fractures: how modern advances in trauma care may decrease mortality.

Trauma surgery & acute care open

Siada SS, Davis JW, Kaups KL, Dirks RC, Grannis KA

Attempting to validate the overtriage/undertriage matrix at a Level I trauma center.

The journal of trauma and acute care surgery

Davis JW, Dirks RC, Sue LP, Kaups KL

Natural history of splenic vascular abnormalities after blunt injury: A Western Trauma Association multicenter trial.

The journal of trauma and acute care surgery

Zarzaur BL, Dunn JA, Leininger B, Lauerman M, Shanmuganathan K, Kaups K, Zamary K, Hartwell JL, Bhakta A, Myers J, Gordy S, Todd SR, Claridge JA, Teicher E, Sperry J, Privette A, Allawi A, Burlew CC, Maung AA, Davis KA, Cogbill T, Bonne S, Livingston DH, Coimbra R, Kozar RA

Discussion of: "Day versus night laparoscopic cholecystectomy for acute cholecystitis: A comparison of outcomes and cost".

American journal of surgery

Siada SS, Schaetzel SS, Chen AK, Hoang HD, Wilder FG, Dirks RC, Kaups KL, Davis JW

Day versus night laparoscopic cholecystectomy for acute cholecystitis: A comparison of outcomes and cost.

American journal of surgery

Siada SS, Schaetzel SS, Chen AK, Hoang HD, Wilder FG, Dirks RC, Kaups KL, Davis JW

Attempting to validate the over/under triage matrix at a level I trauma center.

The journal of trauma and acute care surgery

Davis JW, Dirks RC, Sue LP, Kaups KL

Time is now: venous thromboembolism prophylaxis in blunt splenic injury.

American journal of surgery

Kwok AM, Davis JW, Dirks RC, Wolfe MM, Kaups KL

Use of endotracheal tubes with subglottic secretion drainage reduces ventilator-associated pneumonia in trauma patients.

The journal of trauma and acute care surgery

Hubbard JL, Veneman WL, Dirks RC, Davis JW, Kaups KL

The role of computed tomographic scan in ongoing triage of operative hepatic trauma: A Western Trauma Association multicenter retrospective study.

The journal of trauma and acute care surgery

Kutcher ME, Weis JJ, Siada SS, Kaups KL, Kozar RA, Wawrose RA, Summers JI, Eriksson EA, Leon SM, Carrick MM, Mallory G, Sperry JL

Myths and Misinformation About Gunshot Wounds may Adversely Affect Proper Treatment.

World journal of surgery

Hafertepen SC, Davis JW, Townsend RN, Sue LP, Kaups KL, Cagle KM

The disruptive physician: addressing the issues.

Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons

Santin B, Kaups K

Blunt abdominal aortic injury: a Western Trauma Association multicenter study.

The journal of trauma and acute care surgery

Shalhub S, Starnes BW, Brenner ML, Biffl WL, Azizzadeh A, Inaba K, Skiada D, Zarzaur B, Nawaf C, Eriksson EA, Fakhry SM, Paul JS, Kaups KL, Ciesla DJ, Todd SR, Seamon MJ, Capano-Wehrle LM, Jurkovich GJ, Kozar RA

Isolated free fluid on abdominal computed tomography in blunt trauma: watch and wait or operate?

Journal of the American College of Surgeons

Gonser-Hafertepen LN, Davis JW, Bilello JF, Ballow SL, Sue LP, Cagle KM, Venugopal C, Hafertepen SC, Kaups KL

Criteria for excision of suspected fibroadenomas of the breast.

American journal of surgery

Hubbard JL, Cagle K, Davis JW, Kaups KL, Kodama M

Dual eligible beneficiaries: roles for surgeons under health care reform.

Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons

Murthy SS, Weissman JS, Grabowski DC, McDonald K, Kaups KL, Meara JG

The aging surgeon: when is it time to leave active practice?

Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons

Garrett K, Kaups KL

Gunshot wounds and blast injuries to the face are associated with significant morbidity and mortality: results of an 11-year multi-institutional study of 720 patients.

The journal of trauma and acute care surgery

Shackford SR, Kahl JE, Calvo RY, Kozar RA, Haugen CE, Kaups KL, Willey M, Tibbs BM, Mutto SM, Rizzo AG, Lormel CS, Shackford MC, Burlew CC, Moore EE, Cogbill TH, Kallies KJ, Haan JM, Ward J

An interactive individualized intervention to promote behavioral change to increase personal well-being in US surgeons.

Annals of surgery

Shanafelt TD, Kaups KL, Nelson H, Satele DV, Sloan JA, Oreskovich MR, Dyrbye LN

Mechanical ventilation weaning and extubation after spinal cord injury: a Western Trauma Association multicenter study.

The journal of trauma and acute care surgery

Kornblith LZ, Kutcher ME, Callcut RA, Redick BJ, Hu CK, Cogbill TH, Baker CC, Shapiro ML, Burlew CC, Kaups KL, DeMoya MA, Haan JM, Koontz CH, Zolin SJ, Gordy SD, Shatz DV, Paul DB, Cohen MJ, Western Trauma Association Study Group

Post-extubation dysphagia in trauma patients: it's hard to swallow.

American journal of surgery

Kwok AM, Davis JW, Cagle KM, Sue LP, Kaups KL

Predicting extubation failure in blunt trauma patients with pulmonary contusion.

The journal of trauma and acute care surgery

Bilello JF, Davis JW, Cagle KM, Kaups KL

A standardized rapid sequence intubation protocol facilitates airway management in critically injured patients.

The journal of trauma and acute care surgery

Ballow SL, Kaups KL, Anderson S, Chang M

Who should we feed? Western Trauma Association multi-institutional study of enteral nutrition in the open abdomen after injury.

The journal of trauma and acute care surgery

Burlew CC, Moore EE, Cuschieri J, Jurkovich GJ, Codner P, Nirula R, Millar D, Cohen MJ, Kutcher ME, Haan J, MacNew HG, Ochsner G, Rowell SE, Truitt MS, Moore FO, Pieracci FM, Kaups KL, WTA Study Group

The critical state of graduate medical education funding.

Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons

Metzler I, Ganjawalla K, Kaups KL, Meara JG

Work-home conflicts have a substantial impact on career decisions that affect the adequacy of the surgical workforce.

Archives of surgery (Chicago, Ill. : 1960)

Dyrbye LN, Freischlag J, Kaups KL, Oreskovich MR, Satele DV, Hanks JB, Sloan JA, Balch CM, Shanafelt TD

Governors' Committee on Physician Competency and Health.

Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons

Kaups KL

Single-dose etomidate for intubation in the trauma patient.

The Journal of emergency medicine

Banh KV, James S, Hendey GW, Snowden B, Kaups K

Prevalence of alcohol use disorders among American surgeons.

Archives of surgery (Chicago, Ill. : 1960)

Oreskovich MR, Kaups KL, Balch CM, Hanks JB, Satele D, Sloan J, Meredith C, Buhl A, Dyrbye LN, Shanafelt TD

Percutaneous tracheostomy: to bronch or not to bronch--that is the question.

The Journal of trauma

Jackson LS, Davis JW, Kaups KL, Sue LP, Wolfe MM, Bilello JF, Lemaster D

Validating the Western Trauma Association algorithm for managing patients with anterior abdominal stab wounds: a Western Trauma Association multicenter trial.

The Journal of trauma

Biffl WL, Kaups KL, Pham TN, Rowell SE, Jurkovich GJ, Burlew CC, Elterman J, Moore EE

Governors' Committee on Physician Competency and Health: an update.

Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons

Kaups KL

Prehospital hypotension in blunt trauma: identifying the "crump factor".

The Journal of trauma

Bilello JF, Davis JW, Lemaster D, Townsend RN, Parks SN, Sue LP, Kaups KL, Groom T, Egbalieh B

Defining the limits of resuscitative emergency department thoracotomy: a contemporary Western Trauma Association perspective.

The Journal of trauma

Moore EE, Knudson MM, Burlew CC, Inaba K, Dicker RA, Biffl WL, Malhotra AK, Schreiber MA, Browder TD, Coimbra R, Gonzalez EA, Meredith JW, Livingston DH, Kaups KL, WTA Study Group

Sew it up! A Western Trauma Association multi-institutional study of enteric injury management in the postinjury open abdomen.

The Journal of trauma

Burlew CC, Moore EE, Cuschieri J, Jurkovich GJ, Codner P, Crowell K, Nirula R, Haan J, Rowell SE, Kato CM, MacNew H, Ochsner MG, Harrison PB, Fusco C, Sauaia A, Kaups KL, WTA Study Group

Management of patients with anterior abdominal stab wounds: a Western Trauma Association multicenter trial.

The Journal of trauma

Biffl WL, Kaups KL, Cothren CC, Brasel KJ, Dicker RA, Bullard MK, Haan JM, Jurkovich GJ, Harrison P, Moore FO, Schreiber M, Knudson MM, Moore EE

Management of maxillofacial injuries with severe oronasal hemorrhage: a multicenter perspective.

The Journal of trauma

Cogbill TH, Cothren CC, Ahearn MK, Cullinane DC, Kaups KL, Scalea TM, Maggio L, Brasel KJ, Harrison PB, Patel NY, Moore EE, Jurkovich GJ, Ross SE

Prehospital hypoxia affects outcome in patients with traumatic brain injury: a prospective multicenter study.

The Journal of trauma

Chi JH, Knudson MM, Vassar MJ, McCarthy MC, Shapiro MB, Mallet S, Holcroft JJ, Moncrief H, Noble J, Wisner D, Kaups KL, Bennick LD, Manley GT

The association between Chance fractures and intra-abdominal injuries revisited: a multicenter review.

The American surgeon

Tyroch AH, McGuire EL, McLean SF, Kozar RA, Gates KA, Kaups KL, Cook C, Cowgill SM, Griswold JA, Sue LA, Craun ML, Price J

Placement of intracranial pressure monitors: are "normal" coagulation parameters necessary?

The Journal of trauma

Davis JW, Davis IC, Bennink LD, Hysell SE, Curtis BV, Kaups KL, Bilello JF

Are automated blood pressure measurements accurate in trauma patients?

The Journal of trauma

Davis JW, Davis IC, Bennink LD, Bilello JF, Kaups KL, Parks SN

Victims of domestic violence on the trauma service: unrecognized and underreported.

The Journal of trauma

Davis JW, Parks SN, Kaups KL, Bennink LD, Bilello JF

Motor vehicle restraints: primary versus secondary enforcement and ethnicity.

The Journal of trauma

Davis JW, Bennink L, Kaups KL, Parks SN

Routine chest radiograph is not indicated after open tracheostomy: a multicenter perspective.

The American surgeon

Tyroch AH, Kaups K, Lorenzo M, Schreiber M, Solis D

Delayed pulmonary hemorrhage 17 years after gunshot wound to the chest.

The Annals of thoracic surgery

Bilello JF, Kaups KL, Davis JW

Routine evaluation of the cervical spine in head-injured patients with dynamic fluoroscopy: a reappraisal.

The Journal of trauma

Davis JW, Kaups KL, Cunningham MA, Parks SN, Nowak TP, Bilello JF, Williams JL

Localized autonomic abnormality: another clinical marker of blunt cervical vascular injury?

The Journal of trauma

Bilello JF, Davis JW, Kaups KL, Parks SN

Domestic violence and the trauma surgeon: results of a study on knowledge and education.

Journal of the American College of Surgeons

Davis JW, Kaups KL, Campbell SD, Parks SN

Pediatric restraint use in motor vehicle collisions: reduction of deaths without contribution to injury.

Archives of surgery (Chicago, Ill. : 1960)

Tyroch AH, Kaups KL, Sue LP, O'Donnell-Nicol S

Pregnant women and car restraints: beliefs and practices.

The Journal of trauma

Tyroch AH, Kaups KL, Rohan J, Song S, Beingesser K

Intracranial pressure monitor placement by midlevel practitioners.

The Journal of trauma

Kaups KL, Parks SN, Morris CL

Base deficit as an indicator or resuscitation needs in patients with burn injuries.

The Journal of burn care & rehabilitation

Kaups KL, Davis JW, Dominic WJ

Can Ringer's lactate be used safely with blood transfusions?

American journal of surgery

Lorenzo M, Davis JW, Negin S, Kaups K, Parks S, Brubaker D, Tyroch A

Does free fluid on abdominal computed tomographic scan after blunt trauma require laparotomy?

The Journal of trauma

Cunningham MA, Tyroch AH, Kaups KL, Davis JW

Medical versus surgical management of diverticulitis in patients under age 40.

American journal of surgery

Cunningham MA, Davis JW, Kaups KL

More guns and younger assailants. A combined police and trauma center study.

Archives of surgery (Chicago, Ill. : 1960)

Davis JW, Rhames MP, Kaups KL

Effect of alcohol on the utility of base deficit in trauma.

The Journal of trauma

Davis JW, Kaups KL, Parks SN

Spinal cord injury. A preventable public burden.

Archives of surgery (Chicago, Ill. : 1960)

Tyroch AH, Davis JW, Kaups KL, Lorenzo M

Admission base deficit predicts transfusion requirements and risk of complications.

The Journal of trauma

Davis JW, Parks SN, Kaups KL, Gladen HE, O'Donnell-Nicol S

Blunt cardiac injury.

Chest

Kaups KL

Maxillary sinusitis in the surgical intensive care unit: a study using bedside sinus ultrasound.

American journal of otolaryngology

Kaups KL, Cohn SM, Nageris B, Lavelle WG

Ibuprofen improves survival but does not ameliorate increased gut mucosal permeability in endotoxic pigs.

Archives of surgery (Chicago, Ill. : 1960)

Fink MP, Kaups KL, Wang H, Rothschild HR